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RELS 108 Human Spirituality School of World Studies

2015 Kali Temple Brock Davis

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Kali Temple by Brock Davis

or my field trip I am going to talk about the bread rolls but it was not really bread. I am Fexperience that I had at the Kali Temple still unsure on what it actually was because of in Kolkata, India. The Kali Temple is located a language barrier, but I was able to find out at Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal 700026, they were used in worship and to eat. They India, and is use of the Hindu religion. I visited were also very good. There were also many this location while I was attending a medical little stores where they were selling objects for mission with Operation Smile in February of worship such as pictures, beads, flowers, and 2013, which yielded 102 successful surgeries to many other objects. those in need. To enter the Temple you had to walk through The temple was close enough that we could a metal detector that was guarded by two walk to the temple from our hotel. Along guards with assault rifles. The guards told us the walk there, we walked through a very that we were not allowed to take any pictures poor community. It is surrounded by beat up inside the temple and they took our bags and houses, homeless people everywhere, and cameras. We were put with a member of the just complete poverty everywhere. The most temple who spoke English and he was our memorable thing about walking there was tour guide of the temple. He told us to enter that there were a group of children that were the temple we had to remove our shoes and playing a game of soccer with a very small he took paint and put a dot on our foreheads rubber ball that did not resemble a soccer ball between our eyes. The dot stands for your at all and used lines drawn in the ground as “third eye” and your third eye sees the world goals. Since I had brought extra soccer balls as how it is. This means the power of the third and pumps/needles, it was one of the most eye allows each person to make judgments heart-warming feelings to be able to leave not made out of hast, but to make the right or them something as simple as a soccer ball just wrong decision. to play with. Inside the temple seemed to be a bit like a par- As we came closer and closer to the temple, ty in some areas and ritualistic in others. The we had to walk through sketchy back allies tour guide explained to us who Kali is and why that seemed as if they led to no-where. There they worship her. She is the Hindu Goddess were paintings all over the walls and the most of destruction, and that they worship her so common symbol was a backwards swastika that she does not bring harm to yourself and which I found out from the locals is a sign of your family. The first thing we came across peace. Surrounding the temple itself were was a small building that they used to sacrifice many little places and they were making little young male goats. They will only sacrifice a RELS 108 Human Spirituality | PAGE 2

goat that is a male and that is young calf, they the temple, which surrounded a very old and will not sacrifice any other goat. I was told that very large tree that was beautiful. When you they sacrifice about 10 goats a day. I was fortu- get to the tree you make another wish and nate enough to see them sacrifice three goats. pray for the safety of your family, friends, and To sacrifice a goat requires two men. One man yourself. Then, you take a sip of warm milk grabs the goat by all four of its leg and puts and pour the rest onto the tree. He then took it head under a guillotine type structure that our names down in a small book of his and we holds the head in place. The man then pulls on each gave a small donation to the Kali temple. the goat’s legs to make the goats neck stretch. The goat starts screaming in fear while a The Kali temple was the first time that I crowd of about 40 – 50 people surrounds it had really been out of my norm in terms of and start cheering. Then, the second man religion, and it was one of the most amazing takes a very large axe, that they hand sharpen experiences of my life thus far. I got to go to again a rock, and he cuts the head off. The a temple in Kolkata, India that most people man holding the goat then takes the goat and have never even heard of and it will open my throws it into a corner and the head is used for light on religion for the rest of my life. I was more ritualistic activities. The building next also able to take pictures of around the temple to the goat sacrifice building was a grilling/ and other parts of my trip and can be seen on cooking area. Someone would come grab the a short video that I created at YouTube: www. goats that had been sacrificed and they would youtube.com/watch?v=qkbSSdzEABE&fea- cook them into curry that they eat. ture=youtu.be. •

Inside another building in the temple is Kali Written Fall 2015. © Brock Davis. and this is where we were going next. Before you go see Kali you have to prepare yourself. You have to give Kali something for each of your wishes. Most people used small flowers. There is a building inside the temple where you get flowers, and you are supposed to get enough flowers for each person in your family and for any close loved ones in your life. Also, the description of Kali is a three-headed god- dess that is very ugly. You can look at her but do not stare. When you go into the building holding Kali, there are many people doing the same thing. Our tour guide came in with us and he gave our blessings to Kali and blessed our family and friends to be protected by Kali, so that she does not bring destruction to us but to those who harm us.

The man then took us to the last building in